Ship Creek (AK) Access Issue
Ship Creek Canyon has been known for several years as a great Alaskan whitewater run just outside
downtown Anchorage. The trail to the creek is on Forest Service land but the creek itself flows
through the military's Fort Richardson light-tactical training area, that has been open to some
forms of permitted recreation, but not watercraft.
For several years there was no enforcement and just the occasional warning but it appears the
base is taking things more seriously and unfortunately local paddler Tim Johnson has been
summoned to appear in United States District Court in Anchorage next week for the charge of
trespassing on military land for paddling Ship Creek this past summer.
The reasons for not allowing boating are not entirely clear and American Whitewater is in the
process of doing additional research on the issue. There is an old dam at the bottom of the
canyon which is a hazard to navigation requiring boaters to portage. The dam has been identified
as a candidate for removal and in the meantime, many local paddlers have expressed an interest in
developing a formal portage trail around it so that kayakers and packrafters can safely and
responsibly paddle this great section of whitewater.
Local paddlers have developed a petition in support of paddling on Ship Creek. For additional
information and background on the issues please check out the Ship Creek Recreation Access page on Life More Natural.
Several members have contacted us on this issue and if you would like to help or otherwise become
more involved please contact us.
Thomas O'Keefe
3537 NE 87th St.
Seattle, WA 98115